Mathematics is the science of numbers as Aristotle defined. Here we have collected all the important mathematics definitions. Browse these definitions or use the Search function for a specific definition.
Math Definitions
Always written first in an ordered pair of coordinates such as (12,5).
In this example, the value "12" is the abscissa.
(The second value "5" shows how far up or down and is called the Ordinate)
Shown as a positive value.
Example: When your instrument measures in "1"s, then any value between 6½ and 7½ is measured as "7", so the absolute error is ½.
Examples:6 is 6 away from zero, so the absolute value of 6 is 6−6 is 6 away from zero, so the absolute value of −6 is 6
In other words it is the magnitude of a number, no negatives allowed.
The symbol "|" is placed either side to mean "Absolute Value", so we write: |−6| = 6
Usually measured as m/s2 ("meters per second squared").
Example: going from 5 m/s (5 meters per second) to 6 m/s in exactly one second is an acceleration of 1 meter per second per second.
And two lots of "per second" becomes "per second squared".
So the acceleration is 1 m/s2.
1 acre = 4,840 square yards.
1 acre is about 0.4 hectares in the Metric system, or exactly 4,046.8564224 square meters.
Example: x + 3 = 7"x" is used in place of a value we don't know yet and is called the "unknown" or the "variable".
In this case the value of "x" can be found by subtracting 3 from both sides of the equal sign like this:
Start with: x + 3 = 7Subtract 3 from both sides: x + 3 − 3 = 7 − 3Calculate: x + 0 = 4Answer: x = 4
Each step has clear instructions. Like a recipe.
Example: one algorithm for adding two digit numbers is:1. add the tens2. add the ones3. add the numbers from steps 1 and 2
So to add 15 and 32 using that algorithm:1. add 10 and 30 to get 402. add 5 and 2 to get 73. add 40 and 7 to get 47
Long Division is another example of an algorithm: when you follow the steps you get the answer.
Computers use algorithms all the time.
"Algorithm" is named after the 9th century Persian mathematician Al-Khwarizmi.
Example: 1/2 − 1/4 + 1/8 − 1/16 + ... = 1/3
For Triangles: a line segment leaving at right angles from a side and going to the opposite corner.
("Bisect" means to divide into two equal parts.)
Example. A $1000 loan repaid after one year with $80 interest plus a $10 service fee, has a total finance charge of $90, and so has an APR of 9%.
Example: A $1,000 investment at 10% per year earns $100 in one year, and has an APY of 10%.
Example: A $1,000 investment at 5% per half-year earns $102.50 in one year, and has an APY of 10.25%.
Also called Counterclockwise (US English).
Angles are usually measured anticlockwise.
Example: imagine a function that works out the height of a tree:
h(year) = 20 × year,
then "year" is an argument of the function "h".
Example: 3, 9, 12, 55 are in ascending order.
Specially if it helps you make money, but it doesn't have to.
Examples: personal property, real estate, stocks/shares, bank accounts
Example addition: (6 + 3) + 4 = 6 + (3 + 4)Because 9 + 4 = 6 + 7 = 13
Also when multiplying it doesn't matter how we group the numbers.
Example multiplication: (2 × 4) × 3 = 2 × (4 × 3)Because 8 × 3 = 2 × 12 = 24
Example: The attributes of a dog include height, speed and color.
Pronounced "ak-seez".
Axes often means the "x" and "y" lines that cross at right angles to make a graph.
Here "x" is balanced by 4 "1"s, so x must be 4
A bankrupt person loses everything except some basic things they own, but all the debt will go away. They receive a bad credit record and may not be able to borrow money again for years.
A bankrupt company gets protection from people it owes money to (so they cannot destroy all of the physical capital and goodwill by breaking it apart and moving it away). This gives more time for the business to work out a good solution.
The bars can be horizontal or vertical.
Examples:
1. in 82, 8 is the base, and the result is 8 × 8 = 64
2. in 53, 5 is the base, and the result is 5 × 5 × 5 = 125
Definition 2: How many digits in a number system.
The decimal number system we use every day has 10 digits {0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9} and so it is Base 10.
A binary digit can only be 0 or 1, so is Base 2.
A hexadecimal digit can be {0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,A,B,C,D,E,F}, so is Base 16.
1,000 x 1,000,000 = 1,000,000,000
Which is a 1 followed by 9 zeros
Using scientific notation: 1 × 109
(In many non-English speaking countries it means a million million, which is a 1 followed by 12 zeros, or 1 × 1012)
Below is a cube made of a million smaller cubes. If each of the small cubes is worth a thousand dollars, then the whole cube is worth a billion dollars.
Examples:
• 0 in Binary equals 0 in the Decimal Number System,
• 1 in Binary equals 1 in the Decimal Number System,
• 10 in Binary equals 2 in the Decimal Number System,
• 11 in Binary equals 3 in the Decimal Number System,
• 100 in Binary equals 4 in the Decimal Number System,
• etc.
Also called Base 2
Examples:• 0 in Binary equals 0 in the Decimal Number System,• 1 in Binary equals 1 in the Decimal Number System,• 10 in Binary equals 2 in the Decimal Number System,• 11 in Binary equals 3 in the Decimal Number System,• 100 in Binary equals 4 in the Decimal Number System,• etc.
Also called Base 2
A simple example is the addition operation "+":
In 2 + 3 = 5 the operation is "+", which takes two values (2 and 3) and gives the result 5
Subtraction, multiplication and division are also binary operations, and there are many more.
The two inputs are called "operands".
Also, a binary operation should take and return things of the same type! In other words, the operands and the result must belong to the same Set.
An operation that has only one input is called a "unary operation".
Example: the square root function is a unary operation: √(16) = 4 has just one input "16" to produce an output of 4
We can bisect line segments, angles, and more.
The dividing line is called the "bisector"
You can bisect line segments, angles, and more.
Example: 110100 has 6 bits.
Symbol is b
Example: 1Mb means 1 million bits
Lower bound: a value that is less than or equal to every element of a set of data.
Upper bound: a value that is greater than or equal to every element of a set of data.
Example: in {3,5,11,20,22} 3 is a lower bound, and 22 is an upper bound
But be careful! 2 is also a lower bound (it is less than any element of that set), in fact any value 3 or less is a lower bound.
Likewise any value 22 or above is also an upper bound, such as 50 or 1000.
Example: how tall is a human? We may not know the exact shortest human, but we can say that 0 is a lower bound (can't be less than zero in height, right?)
Example: Sam has a weekly budget to make sure there is enough money at the end of the week for a night out.
Example: HappyPup Ltd has just finished their Yearly Budget and has set aside $20,000 for the local animal shelter.
A single binary digit (called a "bit") can only be 0 or 1
Example: 1 is a bit
Example: 10110110 is a byte
A bit can have only 2 different values: 0 or 1
A byte can have 2×2×2×2×2×2×2×2 = 256 different values
Symbol is B (and b means bit)
Example: 1MB means 1 million bytes (or 8 million bits)
Example: Calculate the cost of 10 apples when each apple costs 0.50.
Answer: 10 x 0.50 = 5.00
Differential Calculus cuts things into small pieces to find how they change, so we can work out slopes, speed, etc
Integral Calculus joins (integrates) the small pieces together to find how much there is, so we can work out areas within curves, volumes, and more.
Usually it means volume, such as milliliters (ml) or liters (l) in Metric, or pints or gallons in Imperial.
Example: This glass has a capacity of 300 ml (but is actually holding only 160 ml)
Example: Buy a building for $1,000,000, then sell it next year for $1,200,000. The capital gain is $200,000
Example: Buy a building for $1,000,000, then sell it next year for $950,000. The capital loss is $50,000
It is used to tell how hot or cold something is
It is often written as °C
Water freezes at 0°C and boils at 100°C
100 cents equals one dollar in the US, Canada and Australia.
100 cents equals one euro in Europe.
There are 100 centimeters in a meter.
The abbreviation is cm
A typical ruler measures up to 30 cm, like the one shown below. It has cm along the top and inches (1 inch = 2.54 cm) along the bottom.
The 1st Century was from the Year 1 to the Year 100
The 2nd Century was from 101 to 200
The 20th Century was from 1901 to 2000
The 21st Century is from 2001 to 2100
We are currently in the 21st century.
This is a 5 Dollar gold coin from 1855, which is in the 19th Century
Example: an ellipse is a closed curve. So is a circle.
Example: 6z means 6 times z, and "z" is a variable, so 6 is a coefficient.
Variables with no number have a coefficient of 1.
Example: x is really 1x.
Sometimes a letter stands in for the number.
Example: In ax2 + bx + c, "x" is a variable, and "a" and "b" are coefficients.
Example: you borrow $2,000 and use your car as collateral. If you don't pay back the loan according to the agreement (maybe you miss a monthly payment) they can take your car.
Computers can usually:
• "input" data from a mouse, keyboard or touch-screen,
• "process" the data using a CPU and memory, and
• "output" the result onto a screen or save it to disk.
The point is called a vertex.
Example: A polygon (which has straight sides) is convex when there are NO "dents" or indentations in it (no internal angle is greater than 180°)
The opposite idea is called "concave".
On graphs it is usually a pair of numbers: the first number shows the distance along, and the second number shows the distance up or down.
Example: the point (12,5) is 12 units along, and 5 units up.
The length of the adjacent side divided by the length of the side opposite the angle.
The abbreviation is cot
cot(θ) = adjacent / opposite
Example: 3 × 3 × 3 = 27, so the cube root of 27 is 3.
Its symbol is m3
It is equal to 1000 (one thousand) liters.
Example: A box that is 2 meters wide, 2 meters long and 0.25 meters deep has a volume of 2×2×0.25 = 1 m3
In normal language a curve must bend (change direction), but in mathematics a straight line is also a curve.
• two identical flat ends that are circular or elliptical
• and one curved side.
It has the same cross-section from one end to the other.
Example: in the number 36.9 the point separates the 36 (the whole number part) from the 9 (the fractional part, which really means 9 tenths).So 36.9 is 36 and nine tenths.
A circle has an eccentricity of zero.
The symbol is "!"
Examples:
4! = 4 × 3 × 2 × 1 = 24
7! = 7 × 6 × 5 × 4 × 3 × 2 × 1 = 5040
Example:
There are a finite number of people at a beach.
There are also a finite number of grains of sand at a beach. Hard to count but still finite!
And the length of a beach is also finite.
For infinite or infinity please use search bar or alphabet index above
• Plane Geometry is about flat shapes like lines, circles and triangles.
• Solid Geometry is about solid (3-dimensional) shapes like spheres and cubes.
10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
In Scientific Notation it is 1 × 10100
When we find all the factors of two or more numbers, and some factors are the same ("common"), then the largest of those common factors is the Greatest Common Factor.
Abbreviated "GCF". Also called "Highest Common Factor"
Example: the GCF of 12 and 16 is 4, because 1, 2 and 4 are common factors of both 12 and 16, and 4 is the greatest of them.
As well as the familiar digits 0 to 9, there are also the letters A, B, C, D, E and F in place of the decimal numbers 10 to 15.
Example Hexadecimal Number: 82E6B
More Examples:
• 9 in Hexadecimal equals 9 in the Decimal Number System.
• B in Hexadecimal equals 11 in the Decimal Number System.
• 1E in Hexadecimal equals 30 in the Decimal Number System.
Also called Base 16.
When we find all the factors of two or more numbers, and some factors are the same ("common"), then the largest of those common factors is the Greatest Common Factor.
Abbreviated "GCF". Also called "Highest Common Factor"
Example: the GCF of 12 and 16 is 4, because 1, 2 and 4 are common factors of both 12 and 16, and 4 is the greatest of them.
a ≠ b says that a is not equal to b
There are other special symbols that show in what way things are not equal.
a < b says that a is less than b
a > b says that a is greater than b
(those two are known as strict inequality)
a ≤ b means that a is less than or equal to b
a ≥ b means that a is greater than or equal to b.
Includes:
• the counting numbers {1, 2, 3, ...},
• zero {0},
• and the negative of the counting numbers {-1, -2, -3, ...}
We can write them all down like this: {..., -3, -2, -1, 0, 1, 2, 3, ...}
Examples of integers: -16, -3, 0, 1, 198
Equal to the work done (or energy transferred) by a force of one newton acting over one meter in the direction of the force.
Its symbol is J, which is also kg m2/s2 (kilogram meter squared per second squared)
Examples:
• a kilogram is a thousand grams
• a kilometer is a thousand meters
• a kilobyte is a thousand bytes
Symbol is k
Example: 12 km = 12 kilometers = 12 thousand meters (12,000 m)
The abbreviation is kg.
1 kg = 1000 grams.
1 kg = 2.205 pounds (approximately).
The abbreviation is km.
Examples:
• it takes about 12 minutes to walk 1 km
• at highway speed a car goes about 100 km in an hour (100 km/h)
This is a sign showing a speed limit of 50 km/h
1 km/h = 0.6 miles per hour approximately
For example, when we graph y=1/x we see that it gets closer... and closer... to zero but does not ever quite get there.
We then say "As x approaches infinity, then 1/x approaches 0"
Suppose a gold bar is quite small but has a mass of 1 kilogram (about 2.2 pounds), so it contains a lot of matter.
Mass is commonly measured by how much something weighs. But weight is caused by gravity, so your weight on the Moon is less than here on Earth, while the mass stays the same.
Mass is measured in grams, kilograms and, tonnes (Metric) or ounces and pounds (US units).
They can be added, subtracted, multiplied and more.
There is a whole subject called "Matrix Algebra"
The plural is "matrices".
Or from 0 upwards in some fields of mathematics: 0, 1, 2, 3 and so on ...
No negative numbers and no fractions.
(Positive means more than zero. Zero is neither negative nor positive.)
A negative number is written with a minus sign in front
Example: −5 is negative five.
The word "negative" can be shortened to "−ve"
For a business: total sales minus all expenses including tax.
Example: Bravedog Inc sells $400,000 of dog biscuits, spending $180,000 making them. Marketing and other costs and tax are $100,000. Bravedog's gross income is $220,000 and its net income is $120,000.
Examples:
· the number on the back of a footballer: "8"
· a zip code: "91210"
· a model number: "380"
· etc
For a curve imagine a line just touching and matching the slope there (called a "tangent") and draw a line at right angles to it.
Example: a circle's diameter is always normal to its circumference
They are really an idea in our minds. We write or talk about numbers using numerals such as "5" or "five". We could also hold up 5 fingers, or tap the table 5 times. These are all different ways of referring to the same number.
There are also different types of numbers, such as
• whole numbers {1,2,3,...}
• decimals (like 1.48 or 50.5)
• fractions (like 1/2 or 3/8)
• and more.
· knowing their relative values,
· how to use them to make judgments,
· how to use them in flexible ways when adding, subtracting, multiplying or dividing
· how to develop useful strategies when counting, measuring or estimating.
Examples:
• 7 in Octal equals 7 in the Decimal Number System
• 10 in Octal equals 8 in the Decimal Number System
• 11 in Octal equals 9 in the Decimal Number System
• 167 in Octal equals 119 in the Decimal Number System
Also called Base 8
Always written second in an ordered pair of coordinates such as (12,5).
In this example, the value "5" is the ordinate
In other words: all the way around a circle divided by all the way across it.
The symbol is π
No matter how large or small the circle, its circumference is always π times its diameter.
π = 3.14159265358979323846... (the digits go on forever without repeating)
A rough approximation is 22/7 (=3.1428571...), but that is not accurate.
Example: Sam's Bakery received $900 yesterday, but expenses such as wages, food and electricity came to $650. So the Profit was $900 − $650 = $250.
But if the income is LESS THAN the expenses it is called a "Loss".
Example: Two days ago Sam's Bakery received $480, but expenses were $520.
$480 − $520 = −$40, which is a $40 Loss
Example: What is the quantity of rice?
• We can say "a handful"
• Or use a measuring cup and say "40 milliliters"
• Or we can count them and say "1562"
dividend ÷ divisor = quotient.
Example: in 12 ÷ 3 = 4, 4 is the quotient.
One Radian is (180/π) degrees, which is about 57.2958 degrees.
Ratios can be shown in different ways:
• using the ":" to separate example values
• using the "/" to separate one value from the total
• as a decimal, after dividing one value by the total
• as a percentage, after dividing one value by the total
Example: if there is 1 boy and 3 girls you could write the ratio as:
1:3 (for every one boy there are 3 girls)
1/4 are boys and 3/4 are girls
0.25 are boys (by dividing 1 by 4)
25% are boys (0.25 as a percentage)
The sale price here is $8.00
If the discount is a percentage we must first work out the discount amount:
• discount amount = original price × discount rate
• then subtract that from the original price
Example: the shirt shop is having a 10% discount sale
The t-shirt's normal price is $23
• discount amount = $23 × 10% = $2.30
• then $23 - $2.30 = $20.70 (the Sale Price)
Its area is half of a circle's area: πr2/2
Its perimeter is half of a circle's perimeter plus the diameter: πr + 2r
Here is a set of clothing items.
Each member is called an element of the set.
A set has only one of each member (all members are unique).
Example: {1,2,3,4} is the set of counting numbers less than 5
Example: a 3-year loan of $1,000 at 10% costs 3 lots of 10%
So the interest is 3 × $1,000 × 10% = $300
(Simple interest is almost never used in the real world, with compound interest being preferred.)
Every point on the surface is the same distance from the center.
Example: 4 × 4 = 16, so a square root of 16 is 4.
Note that (−4) × (−4) = 16 too, so −4 is also a square root of 16.
The symbol is √ which always means the positive square root.
Example: √36 = 6 (because 6 x 6 = 36)
It is the square root of the Variance,
and the Variance is the average of the squared differences from the Mean.
A is a subset of B when every member of A is a member of B.
Example: B = {1,2,3,4,5}
Then A = {1,2,3} is a subset of B
Other subsets of B include {2,3} or {1,4,5} or {4} etc...
But {1,2,6} is NOT a subset of B as it has 6 (which is not in B)
(The name comes from Greek trigonon "triangle" + metron "measure").
Example: 7 and 5 are unequal.
The symbol is ≠ (the "not equal" symbol).
Example: 7 ≠ 5
So the union of sets A and B is the set of elements in A, or B, or both.
The symbol is a special "U" like this: ∪
Example:
Soccer = {alex, hunter, casey, drew}
Tennis = {casey, drew, jade}
Soccer ∪ Tennis = {alex, hunter, casey, drew, jade}
In words: the union of the "Soccer" and "Tennis" sets is alex, hunter, casey, drew and jade
Saying that Ariel the Dog is running 3 km/h Westwards is a velocity.
(But saying just 3 km/h is a speed.)
Examples:
• any corner of a pentagon (a plane shape)
• any corner of a tetrahedron (a solid)
(The plural of vertex is "vertices".)
Can be paid weekly, two-weekly, or monthly.
Example: Alex earns $20 per hour, and worked 40 hours last week so earned an $800 wage.
You often get paid extra for overtime work.
Weight and Mass are different things, but weighing scales are designed to estimate the mass sitting on them and so (instead of units of force) it is common to use units of mass like these:
• grams, kilograms and tonnes (in Metric)
• ounces, pounds and tons (in US units)
There is no fractional or decimal part. And no negatives.
Example: 5, 49 and 980 are all whole numbers.
It is called a "variable" or sometimes an "unknown".
In x + 2 = 7, x is a variable, but we can work out its value if we try!
A variable doesn't have to be "x", it could be "y", "w" or any letter, name or symbol.
It is used as a reference line so you can measure from it.
The X Coordinate is always written first in an ordered pair of coordinates (x,y), such as (12,5).
In this example, the value "12" is the X Coordinate.
Also called "Abscissa"
It is used as a reference line so you can measure from it.
The Y Coordinate is always written second in an ordered pair of coordinates (x,y) such as (12,5).
In this example, the value "5" is the Y Coordinate.
Also called "Ordinate"
In this example, the value 1.7 is 2 standard deviations away from the mean of 1.4, so 1.7 has a z-score of 2.
Similarly 1.85 has a z-score of 3.
So to convert a value to a Standard Score ("z-score"):
· first subtract the mean,
· then divide by the standard deviation
The same as multiplying by 10-21 (which is 0.000 000 000 000 000 000 001)
Prefix is z
Example: 12 zg = 12 zeptograms = 0.000 000 000 000 000 000 012 g
The mass of 1 single molecule of glucose (a simple sugar found in many foods) is 0.3 zg
Shows that there is no amount.
Example: 6 − 6 = 0 (the difference between six and six is zero)
Zero is not positive and is also not negative.
When we add zero to a number the result is just the number, unchanged.
When we multiply a number by zero we get zero.
Zero is also used as a "place-holder" so that you can write a numeral properly.
Example: 502 (five hundred and two) could be mistaken for 52 (fifty two) without the zero in the tens place.
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